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Pharmacology Training Program: From Bench to Bedside

The primary goals of this Pharmacology Training Program are to provide advanced training in basic and translational pharmacological sciences and to broaden the research perspectives and skills of trainees interested in pharmacology research by leveraging the highly collaborative multidisciplinary biomedical science environment at UC Davis to provide trainees with an “inside look” at and understanding of the drug development process from target identification into the clinic. A secondary goal is to foster interactions among faculty, researchers, post- and pre-doctoral fellows from different departments and Graduate Groups that share an interest in pharmacological sciences. Our vision is that these goals will translate into increased understanding of and interest in the concepts, challenges and opportunities in pharmacology research and therapeutics, as well as increased collaborations between established research scientists in pharmacology and their future colleagues in basic and clinical research across academic, government and private sectors.

Students eligible to apply to the Pharmacology Training Program should be in their first, second, or third year of a graduate program listed below and should be working on a thesis project related to pharmacology. Other graduate groups can be considered on a case by case basis. The student must also be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and be in good academic standing. The Pharmacology pre-doctoral graduate student training program is supported due to NIH T32 GM099608 grant funding.

Enrollment in the graduate-level course Drug Discovery and Development (PHA 207, 3 credits), unless trainee can show evidence of completion of an analogous course. Students that have not taken PTX 201 or an equivalent course covering pharmacokinetics/dynamics will be offered a supplementary 8 hour module on this topic.

Participation in an interactive course Problem Solving in Drug Development (each quarter);

Participation in a once-a-month seminar that includes seminar attendance and active involvement in organizing the seminar series, including inviting and hosting speakers;

Participation in a monthly chalk talk during which trainees discuss their research advances and challenges;

Participation in an annual retreat.

Students and their faculty trainers need to commit to participate in this program for 3 years (i.e., participation in Problem Solving in Drug Development, the once-a-month seminar, monthly chalk talks, and the yearly retreats).

The Pharmacology Training Program Predoctoral trainee positions will be available for one year periods, from July 1 to June 30. This fellowship includes a yearly stipend, a small allowance for trainee-related expenses, and partial student fees. There is the possibility of renewal for a second year if the student has made good progress during the first year..

Applications will be reviewed by the Pharmacology Training Grant Executive Committee on an annual basis. Selection is based on academic performance in graduate school, the relevance of the trainee’s proposed research and career goals to pharmacology, and the trainee’s potential to benefit from and contribute to the pharmacology training program.

Applications should be submitted by May 04. To apply (predoctoral students) or to upload letters of recommendation (Trainers), login to the Pharmacology training grant application system: http://pharmt32.ucdavis.edu/ (Accessible with Kerberos User Name and Password).

A complete application should consist of the following:

The applicant’s biographical sketch or CV.

A concise Research Project plan describing the proposed doctoral dissertation research, its relevance to pharmacology and the applicant’s career goals.

Applicant’s graduate and undergraduate academic records.

A signed statement indicating that both the trainee and the training faculty mentor agree to comply with the requirements of the pharmacology training program including regular participation in the seminars, Chalk Talks and Retreat not only during but also after the period of active funding support while the trainee is matriculated as full-time graduate students at UC Davis.

Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a training faculty who has agreed to mentor the applicant’s thesis research.

Please have the following information on hand when completing the online application, since our system will not allow you to save information and go back to it.

UC Davis has a strong multidisciplinary and collaborative environment in research and training related to this Pharmacology Training Program (PTP). The 59 Training Faculty are from 22 departments in 6 colleges, where extensive collaborative interaction exist (e.g. many are members of the Pharmacology-Toxicology (PTX) Graduate Group, now in its 37th year). The PTP includes faculty trainers that smoothly span colleges, academic departments and centers.

The PTP objective is to provide predoctoral trainees with the core educational and research training required for translating pre-clinical mechanistic therapeutic discoveries into clinical trials. All of the educational components necessary for this translation PTP are provided by collaborative teaching and training. The training faculty are well-funded with ongoing disease-oriented and therapeutic discovery projects at UC Davis and some have pharmaceutical industry partners. Their foci range from identifying novel therapeutic molecular targets, making or identifying therapeutic molecules, novel developing cell targeting strategies, immune-mediated, and stem cell pre-clinical therapeutics, to clinical trials being conducted at the UC Davis NIH-funded Clinical and Trans­lational Science Center (CTSC), NIH-designated Cancer Center, and within the UCD Health System.

The disease targets of the training faculty cover a broad spectrum, but include strength in cardiovascular, neurosciences, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. All PTP trainees will develop a solid foundation in both modern physiology and pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmaco­dynamics, pharmaco­toxicology, drug meta­bolism, drug discovery and translation, biostatistics and responsible conduct of research. The PTP also provides training in skills that promote professional development. Previous trainees of the training faculty have had highly successful careers in both academia and industry. This PTP will provide an exciting training opportunity for motivated students and fellows in translational pre-clinical therapeutics.